UK shipping company to enable (almost) real-time package tracking

If you’ve ever ordered anything of great value or importance online, your routine is probably similar to most. You follow the package online through every step as it is received by the courier, shipped to your local hub and finally sent out on a truck for delivery. But it’s that last part of the equation that is so frustrating as you can only expect it to arrive at some point before the end of the day.

A UK delivery company by the name of Interlink Express/DPD will soon take package tracking to the next level. On August 5, the courier will launch a new service called Follow My Parcel which will allow customers to track overnight deliveries in real time with stunning accuracy.

The delivery company already offers SMS alerts (or e-mails) on the morning of delivery to let customers know when a package is scheduled to arrive within a one-hour time slot (FedEx and UPS, are you listening?). The text alerts will continue but after August 5, they will include a link directing customers to an online map.

The map, which works with desktops and mobile devices, shows where the delivery driver is as he / she makes their way to you. As such, customers will know when a package is set to arrive within 15 minutes. Impressive!

The Verge points out that Amazon uses DPD to deliver a large number of their next-day orders. Additionally, online fashion shop ASOS is also expected to use the new tracking service. Now if we could just get couriers on this side of the pond to adopt a similar system…